James P Beckwourth – Black Explorer who discovered the Beckwourth Pass
By
John C Abercrombie
As we start this post, we need to be aware of one the most misleading facts of the old west. After years of watching television, movies, listening to the radio and even reading novels and history books, many of us have seen a lily-White west. This is completely wrong as one of every four cowboys was Black. Even trail bosses were Black and entrusted with the payroll and other finances for the entire drive. Nothing is gained here except to trash an entire race of people for some undisclosed reason.
Many of the troops of the United States, displacing Native Americans from their land were the all-Black Buffalo Soldiers. Yet their significance is grossly underplayed in these materials mentioned above.
Beckwourth was born into slavery in Virginia in 1805. While innocent this statement is loaded with a mixture of consequences. Born into slavery means his mother was a slave and took no consideration of the status of the father. Many people born into slavery had European ancestors, either directly or indirectly. The father, if a free White man could accept his child or even sell it to a slave owner or trader to a life of bondage. Beckwourth had a European father and an enslaved mother.
Incidents like this should be looked at from the character of the perpetrator. Generally, a man of the community who has taken vows before God to be faithful to his wife yet is not and then will ignore or even profit from his own flesh and blood. Denying them an education, career training and all benefits of citizenship.
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It makes one wonder if such superiority exists in Whiteness, how is it destroyed by one drop of other blood, especially considering that the average person has 90,000 drops of blood. There are people who are taught to hate people who may be genetically close to themselves. Even siblings.
Beckwourth moved to St. Louis with his father and learned to be a blacksmith. Beckwourth had freedoms that most enslaved people did not. In 1822 he decided to head west and joined an expedition headed to the lead mines.
As we become aware of posts like this, we wonder if there is harm in not knowing about the people, places and events discussed.
One of the tenants of slavery is that the White slave owners were so benevolent because Blacks were incapable of motivating themselves, unable to survive without direct orders, so happy to have someone to take care of them. None of these foolish thoughts are true but it makes you question the reasons for the institution of slavery. *
Laws were passed making it illegal to teach a Black, slave or free, to read or write. This was designed to make them look uneducable as no society able to communicate effectively has been seen as second class.
If this subject was the only one omitted, it may be consideredA an Opps, but when all are, it changes the conversation.
America drops all references concerning race to avoid having to recognize those who do not fit the negative stereotype that is so prominent. It is time to reveal, not concealment.
In 1824 Beckwourth joined another expedition to explore the Rocky Mountains. In the following years, he became a famous fur trapper and mountain man. Beckwourth worked with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and was an Indian fighter. He was well known for telling lore about his adventures.
A mountain man was generally a solitary and rugged man who lived in the wilderness and made his living from hunting and trapping. Most lived in the North American Rocky Mountains and were important in opening up the trails used by emigrants from the east to settle in the western territories often by organized wagon trains. In many cases they physically improved the roads previously used by Native Americans.
Mountain men arose in a geographic and economic expansion that was driven by the lucrative earnings available in the North American fur trade. Ther are published accounts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition findings about the Rockies and the Oregon Country where they flourished economically for over three decades.
Beckwourth claimed he was captured by Crow Indians while trapping. According to Beckwourth, they thought he was the lost son of a Crow chief. So, the Crow allowed him into the nation. Beckwourth married the daughter of a chief. For the next six to eight years, Beckwourth lived with a Crow band. He rose in their society to the level of War Chief. Beckwourth participated in raids by the Crow. The raids were usually against their enemy, the Blackfoot.
Beckwourth is credited with discovering Beckwourth Pass in 1850. This is a low elevation pass. It goes through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In 1851 he improved the Beckwourth Trail. This was originally a Native American path through the mountains. The trail allowed people to travel more quickly and safely.
James Beckwourth discovered the Beckwourth Pass in 1850. In 1851, he improved the path into Sierra Valley to create his Beckwourth Trail. The trail ran from Truckee Meadows today this is known as Sparks, Nevada and ran into California and on to Marysville.
Beckwourth led the first wagon train along the Beckwourth trail into Marysville in the late summer of 1851.
The Beckwourth trail was used by 12,000 head of cattle, 700 sheep and 500 horses between 1851 and 1854. The traffic on the road declined when it was converted into a toll road.
Between 1895 and 1916, the pass was used by the Sierra Valley & Mohawk Railway narrow gauge. The abandoned right-of-way is still visible on the south, and eastern slope of the pass.
In 1906, the Chilcoot Tunnel, with a length of 6,002 feet was constructed beneath Beckwourth Pass by the Western Pacific Railroad as part of its Feather River Route. This route is now owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad.
In 1937, a bronze plaque was erected at Beckwourth Pass by the Native Daughters of the Golden West to commemorate the discoverer and the pioneers who passed along the trail.
August 8, 1939, Beckwourth Pass was designated as California Historical Landmark Number 336.
In 1859 Beckwourth settled in Denver, Colorado.1 He became a storekeeper. Beckwourth also worked as an Indian agent. In 1864 Beckwourth was hired as a scout for a military campaign against the Cheyenne and Arapaho. He also was a scout at Fort Laramie and Fort Phil Kearny in 1866.
Beckwourth died in a Crow village near the Big Horn River. He was the only African American in the West to record his life story. His book, The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, was published in 1856.
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Beckwourth Videos and Books
You have read a summary of James P Beckwourth. Now we are going deeper by sharing videos and books. Many do not know about stories like this because they are hard to find. Our effort is to focus on these important stories and serve as a source of information. We focus on the good, the bad and the ugly because we can learn from history, but only if the information is complete.
Reading history books, watching television, movies and listening to folk lore, one is led to believe that there were NO Blacks in the west. This is untrue as one of every four cowboys was Black. Many were trail bosses and entrusted with the responsibility of huge cattle drives and entrusted with large sums of money.
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Into the Wild Frontier – Jim Beckwourth: War Chief of the Crow
Into the Wild Frontier | Season 1 | Episode 7 | Jim Beckwourth: War Chief of the Crow
From fur trapper to the war chief of the Crow tribe, former slave Jim Beckwourth’s worlds collide during his explorations in the West.
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Book
The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians
James Pierson Beckwourth (1798 or 1800 – 1866 or 1867), born James Beckwith and generally known as, Jim Beckwourth was an American mountain man, fur trader, and explorer. A mulatto born into slavery in Virginia, he was freed by his father (and master) and apprenticed to a blacksmith; later he moved to the American West. As a fur trapper, he lived with the Crow Nation for years. He is credited with the discovery of Beckwourth Pass, through the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) Mountains, between present-day Reno, Nevada, and Portola, California, during the California Gold Rush years, and improved the Beckwourth Trail, which thousands of settlers followed to central California.He narrated his life story to Thomas D. Bonner, an itinerant justice of the peace. The book was published in New York and London in 1856 as The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians. A translation was published in France in 1860.Early historians of the Old West originally considered the book little more than campfire lore. It has since, been reassessed as a valuable source of social history, especially, for life among the Crow, although, not all its details are reliable or accurate. The civil rights movement of the 1960s celebrated Beckwourth as an early African-American pioneer. He has since, been featured as a role model in children’s literature and textbooks.
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Jim Beckwourth Biography | DAILY BELLRINGER
Jim Beckwourth: Beckwourth was an African American mountain man, explorer, scout, guide, and businessman of the early to mid-1800s. The journeys and expeditions he helped lead would help blaze a trail for other Americans to follow. Questions below:
1. TRUE OR FALSE: Historians know the exact year of Beckwourth’s birth.
2. What Native American tribe did Beckwourth join?
3. What is the title of Beckwourth’s biography?
4. How old was Beckwourth when he died?
5. Why do you think Beckwourth became such a well-known explorer?
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Book
The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians Audible Logo Audible Audiobook – Unabridged
James Pierson Beckwourth (1798-1866) was a fur trader and explorer born into slavery in Virginia. He moved to the West, and as a fur trapper, he lived with the Crow for years. He is credited with the discovery of Beckwourth Pass through the Sierra Nevada Mountains during the California Gold Rush era.
Museum Audiobooks strives to present audiobook versions of authentic, unabridged historical texts from prior eras which contain a variety of points of view. The texts do not represent the views or opinions of Museum Audiobooks, and in certain cases may contain perspectives or language that is objectionable to the modern listener.
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The EARLIEST African American Mountain Man (The Life of Jim Beckwourth) #onemichistory
James Pierson Beckwourth was an American mountain man, fur trader, and explorer.
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Book
James Beckwourth: Legendary Mountain Man (Trailblazer Biographies) Library Binding – January 1, 2005
A title in an established biography series profiles the life and times of the African-American pioneer James Beckwourth, including his conflicts with Native Americans and his role in the California gold rush.
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James Beckwourth American Fur Trader Mountain Man Crow Indian Free Slave Frontiersman
James Beckwourth discovered what is now known as Beckwourth Pass in the spring of 1850, and immediately set about establishing a trail to Marysville.
He worked on the trail in the summer and fall of 1850 and the spring of 1851, and in the late summer of that year led the first wagon train of settlers along the trail into Marysville.
James Pierson Beckwourth was an American mountain man, fur trader, and explorer. Beckwourth was known as “Bloody Arm” because of his skill as a fighter.
He was mixed-race and born into slavery in Virginia. He was freed by his white father (and owner) and apprenticed to a blacksmith so that he could learn a trade.
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JIM BECKWOURTH: SAINT OR SINNER – MOUNTAIN MAN OF THE WILD WEST
This awesome story has been out of print for decades and now you can hear the story of this amazing icon of the American West.
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In an effort to avoid any discussion of race, historians have omitted any mention of it in their writings. Good, bad or ugly it is avoided as it flies in the face of misleading myths used to justify slavery. This results in one of the biggest problems facing the country today. This subject must be faced to ensure continued success of our country. It is time for adults to step up and resolve the problem, otherwise we only kick the can down the road for our children and grandchildren to solve. That is a cowardly thing to do.